My husband and I are looking to purchase a home in Shrewsbury and have instructed a Shrewsbury conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Shrewsbury conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Shrewsbury lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My son-in-law is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Shrewsbury with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Shrewsbury. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Having legally bound yourself to purchase you must retain a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you are facing a pending deadline in which to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will ordinarily have an associated legal set of papers. This will include most,if not all of the paperwork that your conveyancer will need. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the auction papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. You also need to ensure that your finances are in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
Are all Shrewsbury Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing list of approved firms?
Some major lenders now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Shrewsbury solicitor - who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Shrewsbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Shrewsbury.
I am buying a new build apartment in Shrewsbury. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Shrewsbury
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If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Shrewsbury I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Shrewsbury suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
How do I identify a Shrewsbury solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 10miles to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Shrewsbury conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Shrewsbury conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to see whether they are on the Santander member panel